How to Make Aspirin If You Are Lost in the Woods
Step 1: Find a willow tree
Find a tree in the willow family. Examples include quaking aspens, bigtooth aspens, white willows, black willows, crack willows, purple willows, and weeping willows.
Step 2: Remove bark
Cut into the tree’s bark, strip it off, and isolate the inner bark. In spring and summer, the bark can be removed in long continuous strips.
Tip
If you cannot peel the bark off, scrape off the inner and outer bark using the edge of a sharp knife.
Step 3: Make a tea
Simmer 2 teaspoons of the inner bark in a cup of water for 10 minutes. Let it cool before drinking.
Tip
If you cannot make a tea, an option is to chew on the bark.
Step 4: Avoid overdosing
Drink no more than 4 cups of this tea each day. Overdosing has been known to occur.
